Posted by Wayne G. Barber
A recent study by Yale University researchers, published online in the journal Social Science & Medicine, Book readers survived almost two years longer than those who didn’t crack open a book.
In other words, just like a healthy diet and exercise, books appear to promote a “significant survival advantage,” the authors concluded.
Why or how that’s the case remains unclear; the research showed only an association between book reading and longevity, not a causal relationship. But the findings are not so surprising. Other recent research showed that reading novels appears to boost both brain connectivity and empathy.
Book buying has increased annually during the past few years. At least 652 million print and electronic books were sold in the United States in 2015, according to Nielsen BookScan, the main data collector for the book publishing industry.
The bad news: Americans barely crack the top 25 when it comes to which countries read the most books. India, Thailand and China are ranked one, two and three by the World Culture Index, while the United States comes in 23rd, behind countries such as Egypt, Australia, Turkey and Germany
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